Fire crews fight landfill fire for hours

July 06, 2007|By Emily Arthur-Richardt, American News Writer

A fire on Thursday at the Brown County Landfill sent smoke billowing into the air and kept fire crews on scene for a number of hours as they fought to put out the blaze. Brown County Landfill Manager Mike Scott said the fire, which started in the waste pile, began at noon. Firefighters from Aberdeen Rural Fire Department, as well as a few other local departments, were still on the scene as of 5 p.m. Scott was hopeful the fire, which covered the entire top of the trash pile, would be out before dark. "We have a lot of smoke right now," he said. "But it's just garbage that's burning." Scott said the fire likely started from different materials in the trash pile reacting with each other. The landfill has had similar fires in the past year. "There's really nothing to prevent it. They just happen," he said. "There's a lot of different materials that get thrown away that don't like each other." There were no additional damages, Scott said. Scott said it's fortunate nobody was injured, and that the Aberdeen Rural Fire Department got there so fast. The landfill also got the chance to test out a new fire truck it bought off state surplus recently, he said. The landfill had used it for other purposes but never for a fire. Reporter Emily Arthur-Richardt (605) 622-2314 or 1-800-925-4100 ext. 314; earthur@aberdeennews.com